Researchers at the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Science have modified a yeast cell to sense the active substances in cannabis and get it to turn red when it does. The result paves the way for more actors to discover new medicinal substances and for a new type of drug test that can be done with a smartphone.
Yeast cells are simple organisms. They do two things in life: eat and propagate. Going one step further, the researchers made the yeast turn red or glow when it successfully detects cannabinoids. The study has been published in Nature Communications. Among other things, the biosensor can be used to look for new substances with the same properties as cannabinoids. In our noses alone, different GPCRs make it possible for us to detect and distinguish between the smell of roses and freshly baked bread, each of which activates different GPCRs that then signal the brain.
Along with his research colleagues, Professor Kampranis swapped the GPCR that yeast cells use to sense the opposite sex in an environment, with the GPCR we humans use to recognize cannabinoids.
At the same time, the researchers complemented the yeast cell's genetic material with a set of new genes that make it turn red or even glow when it senses cannabinoids nearby.
This allows us to screen thousands of plants for substances with therapeutic potential. Cannabinoids are known to be connected with sleep, appetite and pain relief. In fact we have them naturally in our bodies where they are calle endocannabinoids.
